The Last of the Few Meals …最后的那几餐… Brief: Today is the first anniversary of the demise of my father. So I thought it is appropriate that I re-post this article on the first anniversary of his death. Our family will always remember him as a great and loving husband and father. May his soul rest […]

My Jade Pendant Is Dull & Dead! 我的玉垂饰是如此的没有光泽 Abstract: Why is my jade pendant looks so dull and dead after wearing it for several years, while at the beginning it was so much nicer and vibrant? Is it still effective to wear the jade pendant for its protective and therapeutic qualities? 摘要：为什么我的玉垂饰在穿过了几年后看起来很沉闷和没有光泽，而开始时时候呢是如此的鲜艳又闪闪发光？ 关于戴玉垂饰拥有的防护和治疗的性质它是否仍然有效？ Hi Arthur, […]

They are our customers, not competitors! 他们其实是我们的客户，不是我们的竞争对手啊！ Abstract: By the time they finished high school at age 17 or 18, I sent my 3 children to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), New York City (NYC), to do their Graduate Gemologist (GG). And they have a keener nose for business than me. Probably, an old […]

My Mother On The Smart Phone! 我的母亲正在使用智能手机！ Abstract: My mother is going to be 89 in May this year. My son bought her a Samsung Tap A smart phone with a 7” screen. With her new toy, she has been busy now watching old movies, on YouTube, Wechat, Whatsapp and on the family group chat. […]

Lesson: How the children learned about the international assigned code words for alphabets of A for Alpha, B for Bravo …. Last couple of months, I was in the car with the two boys. William, the youngest son, was speaking to a staff member in Shanghai on his iphone, giving instructions in fluent Mandarin. Then […]

Dear Arthur Does a Jadeite Gemological Institute or Lab put in their gems report if they find cracks on a gemstone or jade? The reason I asked is because recently at Jade shop, I intended to buy a Jadeite (Type A) “Guan Yin” carving figurine. Upon checking I found a crack from the base of […]

A set of Jadeite Jade and Diamond jewellery sold on May 27, 2014 in Hong Kong at the Christie’s auction for HK$7,840,000 ( US$1,015,850). Comprising a ring, set with an oval jadeite cabochon of even vivid emerald green color and high translucency, to the pear-shaped diamond shoulders and brilliant-cut diamond surround; and a pair of matching […]

Hi Arthur, I would like to ask you about Imperial (Green) Jadeite Jade Type “A” and also the jade ring I purchased as shown in the picture. I was told by the sale-person where I bought this Jadeite Jade Type “A” ring that Imperial (Green) Jadeite Jade Type “A” is rare and of the highest […]

My Jade Pendant Is Dull & Dead! 我的玉垂饰是如此的没有光泽 Abstract: Why is my jade pendant looks so dull and dead after wearing it for several years, while at the beginning it was so much nicer and vibrant? Is it still effective to wear the jade pendant for its protective and therapeutic qualities? 摘要：为什么我的玉垂饰在穿过了几年后看起来很沉闷和没有光泽，而开始时时候呢是如此的鲜艳又闪闪发光？ 关于戴玉垂饰拥有的防护和治疗的性质它是否仍然有效？ Hi Arthur, […]

A Pendant Necklace With A Colored Stone 吊坠项链与彩色的宝石头 Abstract: An elderly lady sent me an enquiry on her pendant necklace with a colored stone mounted. Unfortunately, the colored stone is not a jadeite jade. 摘要 : 一位老太太给我发了一个询问, 问她的吊坠项链与一个彩色的宝石 头安装。不幸的是，那块有色石头并不是翡翠玉石. Dear Arthur Your stories and your information about jadeite are all so interesting and so enjoyable. […]

Ask A.Arthur Lau: Terms & Conditions By sending an enquiry to Arthur (herein known as the Author) to this website, to request an opinion on a specimen item, the reader (herein known as the Enquirer) understands and abides by the following Terms & Conditions. The Enquirer must be a subscriber; The Enquirer must send through […]

The Last of the Few Meals …最后的那几餐… Brief: Today is the first anniversary of the demise of my father. So I thought it is appropriate that I re-post this article on the first anniversary of his death. Our family will always remember him as a great and loving husband and father. May his soul rest […]

They are our customers, not competitors! 他们其实是我们的客户，不是我们的竞争对手啊！ Abstract: By the time they finished high school at age 17 or 18, I sent my 3 children to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), New York City (NYC), to do their Graduate Gemologist (GG). And they have a keener nose for business than me. Probably, an old […]

My Mother On The Smart Phone! 我的母亲正在使用智能手机！ Abstract: My mother is going to be 89 in May this year. My son bought her a Samsung Tap A smart phone with a 7” screen. With her new toy, she has been busy now watching old movies, on YouTube, Wechat, Whatsapp and on the family group chat. […]

Here is a short introduction in layman’s terms on what is an Electromagnetic Spectrum. A simple knowledge of this is important in the study of gemstones and gemology. The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. Hence, the “Electromagnetic Spectrum” of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed […]

The Deep Carbon Observatory A project to reveal more about all the carbon on Earth THE carbon cycle is the stuff of school books. It is a familiar tale of photosynthesis, forests, farming and fossils fuels. Understanding this cycle is important, both because it sustains life on Earth and because it is bound up with […]

Usually when gemstones are defined as durable, they include two distinct traits, hardness and toughness. These terms are not the same and people are often confused between these two. A mineral’s hardness is its ability to resist scratches or abrasions, and hardness is defined on the Moh’s Hardness Scale from 1 to 10, where diamond […]

Diamond Inclusions: Diamonds are formed deep under the earth’s surface for millions of years under extreme heat and pressure. Naturally, this give rise to a number of imperfections inside a diamond, which are called inclusions, as well as on its surface, which are called blemishes. When viewed under a 60X or a 120X microscope, the […]

A magnificent pair of diamond ear pendants sold on May 27, 2014 in Hong Kong at the Christie’s auction for HK$75,160,000 (US$9,738,684) Each suspending a pear-shaped diamond weighing 25.49 and 25.31 carats, surmounted by a pear-shaped diamond weighing 2.45 and 2.33 carats, spaced by a brilliant-cut diamond weighing 0.73 and 0.65 carat, mounted in 18k […]

Christie’s Hong Kong sale of Magnificent Jewels on May 31, 2012 was 80 percent sold by lot and achieved a total of $89,403,200(HKD 695,744,750). The top lot, the Imperial Cushions, was a pair of cushion-shaped, 24.49-carat and 23.11-carat, D, potentially internally flawless Golconda diamond ear pendants that sold for $9,295,690 to an anonymous buyer. Vickie […]

For Seniors Only: New call alphabet soup for seniors, maybe some may be applicable for juniors too. May God bless us all! Subsequent to my previous post on “A for Alpha”, I received an interesting email from an old friend of mine. He mentioned that for seniors, meaning those above 50s, the new call […]

A man who was troubled in mind and finances swore that if his problems were solved he would sell his house and donate all the money gained from it to the poor. When his problems were solved, he knew that the time had come that he must redeem his oath. But he did not want […]

Most of us may have heard about the tale of the inheritance of 17 camels that originated in Arabia during the zenith of the Golden Era of Islam from circa 750 CE and was first narrated by Hasrat Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad (PUHN). This timeless story has been told through the ages by […]

Abstract: In my 20 over years of travel throughout the Indo-China countries (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos), Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand I have encountered many instances of counterfeit US dollars. Except for Thailand, the most used currency by a foreigner in these countries is the green back. The following post is one of my various encounters. […]

The Last of the Few Meals … Brief: My father at 94. I have heard … A jester once annoyed the King with an inappropriate joke in the medieval court. To vent his displeasure, he sentenced the jester to death. Immediately when his words left his mouth, the King regretted it. The jester was his […]

Brief: A couple of months ago, I visited the Lotus Hill in Guangzhou, China. As I was traveling alone, I need to take some good pictures of this scenic spot. And I chanced upon a woman maintenance worker at the park. She handled with ease my Canon DSLR EOS 500D camera as well as my […]

Eat All Those Damned Lemons! Question: It has often being said that when life hands you a lemon, then make a lemonade out of it. This oft-mentioned phrase is used to encourage optimism and faith when one is faced with adversity, hardship, disappointment and setbacks and to maintain a calm composure and positive attitude towards […]

May 12, 2016 Wishing for good luck probably started with the arrival of our species. For millennia, we’ve been wooing the kinder fates to grant us our most cherished wishes. Our quest for ensuring a happy tomorrow has included wearing good luck charms. Gems have long been enlisted as good luck charms because they have […]

May 10, 2016 Hi Arthur, Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. If you have the time would you be able to take a look at this piece and verify if it is real jadeite? It came together with the other piece that was a lemon. They were purchased for only $50 […]

Posted: April 24, 2016 A rare blue diamond has gone up for sale and smashed auction records in Asia. The 10.10 carat rock, named the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, is the largest oval-shaped, fancy vivid blue diamond to ever appear at auction world. The ‘De Beers Millennium Jewel 4’ went on auction as part […]